Once found all across North America, elk have historically lived in many types of habitat. They’ve learned how to survive with different foods, weather, cover and neighbors. In fact, elk once lived in almost every variety of habitat on this continent except for the driest western deserts
and the most humid southeastern forests. Some biologists believe there are no true subspecies of elk; that any North American elk transplanted to a different area will soon take on the characteristics of native elk to that area within only a few generations and without interbreeding. In other words, that size, color and antler appearance are strictly a result of environmental factors such as forage toxicity rather than evolutionary sub-speciation.
Rocky Mountain Elk: Master of Mountains, Prairies and Hardwoods
Most of the elk that survived early settlement and overhunting lived in the Rocky Mountains. They escaped by hiding out in this rough and rugged terrain. Elk from Yellowstone National Park were hauled by truck and railcar to restore herds around the nation, which is why most elk in North America are Rocky Mountain elk.
Tule Elk: A Unique Beast to California’s Marshes and Deserts
Temperatures top 100 degrees, the few oak trees provide little shade, and water gets scarce, but that doesn’t bother California’s tule elk. While most elk must live with harsh winters, tule elk face the opposite challenge. Winter brings plenty of greens to eat in California’s Central Valley, while summer’s heat burns up most of the forage and bakes away the water. Tules have adapted to go longer without water than other elk can. Their extra-long rows of teeth help them chew up the desert’s coarse grasses and shrubs, and in the fall they munch on acorns. Tule elk also hang out in marshes filled with “tules” — the tall, cattail-like plants that give these elk their name.
Roosevelt’s elk: Ghosts of the Jungle
Amidst the dark, looming cedars and firs lurks a large shadow of an animal. It’s the Roosevelt’s elk of the Pacific Northwest. These elk hide out in the thick coastal rainforests where they easily eluded early hunters. Roosevelt’s plump up on berry bushes and willows all winter, munching more grasses and small leafy plants in spring and summer giving them the largest bodies of any elk. They also have the darkest coats, which help them blend into their shady environment.
North American Elk, or Cervus elaphus, are split by some biologists into six subspecies:
- Rocky Mountain (Rocky Mountain West, now transplanted to other locations) – largest antlers of all subspecies
- Roosevelt’s (Coastal Pacific Northwest) – largest in body size of all subspecies, but not antler size
- Tule (Central California) – smallest body size of all subspecies
- Manitoban (northern Great Plains)
- Merriam’s (Southwest and Mexico) – Extinct
- Eastern (east of the Mississippi) – Extinct